We Were Friends Once
by Renee.Sarah
Summary: How Gary and Ash were once friends, then rivals. Told with Gary's view. femAsh AU


"Class we have an addition, come in"

This was new, there wasn't even any gossip of a new student now. the door opens and in walks in some shorty; their shirt is wrinkled, and the pants had grass stains.

"Introduce yourself to the class" the teacher orders

"I am Ash Ketchum, am five years old, and I like pokemon."

Huh, that was odd. Everyone in this grade are seven, everyone knows that. Well, not everyone anymore.

Is this what the talk with Grandpa was about this morning. About "accepting new things even if they don't look great?" and "that even if it was weird, the thing still needs friends."

Though I wonder why they came in so late in the year

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
The bell rings and I run out the door.

Class was still boring after the new student came in. Ash Ketchum, what a name. But its lunch so why worry over class when in 20 minutes we'll have to suffer it. Hey, why is there a crowd, where a door is supposed to be?

"why are you here?", "Yeah, everyone _Knows_ that this school is for seven year olds, the kiddy school is in the next town over.","Did you get lost, little boy?"

Well this is different, wonder why they are being so -

"You know, when I get to the lunch room I don't expect the doors to be blocked." Wait that's Ash's voice

Running forward, shouting, "Hey! what's the blockage for not everyone wants to go hungry. Get out of the way!" I grab Ash's arm as I go by pulling him with me, leaving the rest of them to deal with the angry students that they had blocked the cafeteria from.

"Come on, while they're busy lets get the food" one good thing with the idiots blocking the door was the good for was still here quickly grabbing it turning  
noticing Ash, standing there confused.

"do you want to eat lunch with me?"

"...sure"

We eat and finish before I realize he probably doesn't know my name.

"Hey, I'm Gary"

"I'm Ash" the smile towards me is blinding

Maybe having a new friend wouldn't be so hard after all.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
School was finally over and I was able to grab Ash so i could show Grandpa that I listened to him.

We were right next to my house when,

"If you don't want to be my friend tell me. I'll leave"

I turn, trying to figure out where that even came from.

Why did ash say that.  
He was my friend  
Why would I want him to leave

"I don't want you to go"

It's all I can say

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
It has been half a year since Ash started school here and it still feels like i only just introduced Ash to Grandpa

But right now it's just another boring school day.

English, blah, blah (when will we use this), then Kantoneses (and how is this any different than how they speak in johto /really/) these classes would be better if ash were in them; why he takes different classes Mondays and Fridays i have no clue.

Ah, the bell for lunch

Grab the lunch (don't want to show up without it) and run out the doors. We said that we would meet at the tree today.

Wait. (there are extras, why are there extra people... Oh its Joe)

"Joe stop picking on him." I tell him, why does he have to keep on at Ash. I mean really one day he followed us to pallet just to insult Ash about his house.  
"but Ash isn't a him"

"What" what in Arceus' name was he talking about.

"Ash is a Girl"

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
I've been thinking in circles all day and I can't even be happy school let out.

Why didn't she-he-she tell me? Was I not good enough? Was it something I said?  
Why was I _not good enough_ to tell that to? Were we even friends? After all didn't I just drag hi-her around.

We weren't ever friends were we...

"Hey Gary" look there's the one that let me think we were friends.  
"Leave me alone, you lied we're not friends"  
"Sorry"  
she just walked away  
Why was it so easy for her to walk away we were frie-  
Right not friends.  
Never friends

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
Its been months and still Ash is gone.

Sure she comes to school but between classes and after I can't find her. I been trying to say sorry for letting what flipping Joe said get to me but she just ghost-types it out and I can't do anything.

I know she walks the same route home as I do but I looked and I didn't see her on the paths and Everyone knows kids don't walk in the grass except with adults. Sometimes I see her when she's in her other classes (those make sense now, I don't know how I didn't see) but I'm stuck in class and can't get out to see her

I tried once, the sensei was so _mad_.

 _Why won't she let me apologize_?

In the classes we share I am trying to get to look at me. Before she kept telling me to study and now I am; but she doesn't smile at me when I am right anymore. In Gym we use to run together. Now I barely see her back.

Why won't she look at me.

Maybe then I would be able to say sorry. Then she would smile at me again and everything would be right again.

I actually started asking other students were Ash might be but by the time I get where they tell me she might be, the place is empty. I don't know if they're sending me looking for wild flying-types or if she doesn't stay in places long. Once I even asked Joe but he laughed in my face. The detention and call home was so worth hitting him.

No regrets at all.

I even asked Grandpa if I could borrow a psychic-type (just an Abra) but he said had to fix this myself.

I just wanted it to find _where_ she was!

"rat-ta-ta-ratta"

What was that.

"ah-ha-ha"

That's Ash's Voice. I run forward hoping.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
There! I see her in the grass. About to run forward but I freeze.

There is a purple pokemon on her.  
"Rat-ta"  
They roll over, She is trying to pin the rat pokemon...  
She's fighting with the rattata. How is she fighting a pokemon? Why is she fighting a pokemon?!  
"Ah-Ha-ha"  
Wait, that smile... the smile that she used to have for me...

She's playing.  
"Ash!" I call her name, maybe since she is in a good mood?  
And the smile leaves.

Why won't she smile near me anymore?  
"Why are you in the grass? You know we aren't supposed to be in there without an adult-"  
"RATTA"

It bit me.

It _bit_ me.

It bit _me_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
Stupid Rattata. Why it had to bite me I have no clue.

And the chance that I had to help Ash fell through... but she did look at me.  
"Hey, Gary." Oh, Arcues, it's Molly.  
"What do you want?"  
"J-Just that you seemed down so I though that a cheer might help"  
"A cheer?" I ask trying to figure out what good a cheer would do.  
"Yeah, a cheer. We do them before games to pump up energy and to get people to pay attention to our side."  
to get people to pay attention to our side... get people to pay attention  
"That might just work"

_  
It didn't work.

Why, I have no clue. Something that obnoxious should be enough to grab anybody's attention, but not Ash's apparently...maybe she just doesn't care.

No, she does. She did get me to my grandfathers when that purple rat bit me; so she has to care, at least some.

But still what do I have to do to get her to look at me... It might just not be what she was interested in... but it was about me and she does care about me.  
Though she hasn't been looking at me for a while so I need something else. So what is she interested in: not clothes, she never wears dresses; her hair is a mess so not hair clips, she never uses a purse like other girls. All she used to talk about was pokemon.

Pokemon.

That's the answer.

We will be ten soon. This is the least year. We'll be getting our pokemon together! Then a cheer might work. She will look at me!

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
School would be over soon and in a few months everyone age 10 in Pallet town would be getting a pokemon.

Thinking back, I have no clue why Ash not looking at me mattered so much. She was barely there for 2 and a half years. She had transferred into the school in the middle of the year. Sure, we were friends for six months; before I let _Joe_ get under my skin and ruing it. Maybe that's why. I have spent the last 2 school years trying to fix what somebody else made me do. Made me think about a friendship, and ruin it with my own words.

But 'The Plan' should fix this. She would look at me and I could apologize and _Joe_ could eat his heart out.

I'd been jittery all day. This would be my last chance before The Plan became necessary.

The plan was still being made, but so far the girls in the cheer team had agreed. They would at least start off with me in an attempt to make Ash stall long enough for me to get him secluded and apologize. But they didn't want to walk a lot, so we needed a vehicle. I had ask Gramps but he said something about a test first ...  
The plan was still in progress.

For the last few days of school I had been trying to talk to Ash still. Ash was still doing the ghost-type thing of being in class but disappearing right after; so it had not worked out. I had left a letter with Ash's Mom, but got no reply. I even tried to find the rattata that bit me, to see if Ash was still playing with it. No luck so far.

The teacher had been talking about something but I was in my thoughts so the last words I would ever hear from this sensei went unheard. But I did hear the bell to let out.

 _ ***RRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG***_

And we, the class and I, were out of there like a stampede of Tauros.

Now for Gramps' test.

 ** _\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_** ** _\- - - - -_** ** _\- - -_ _\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - \- - - - - _****\- - - - - - _\- - - - - - - - -_** ** _\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_** ** _\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_**  
AN: this chapter will be replacing all the previous chapters. I will work on this more when I get past the block for the beginning scene with the cheer squad. when writing it doesn't seem right.

I may come back and edit this, add to it but for a while "We Were Friends Once" will go to being one chapter till then


End file.
